Pai gow is an intriguing gambling game that has been popular for years in Asia and recently has gained a following at casinos here in the United States. The
game is played with thirty-two tiles with the traditional domino-like engraved dots. (Some casinos even refer to pai gow tiles as “dominos” because they are so similar.)
Setting up the game requires the dealer to shuffle the tiles, stacking them into eight stacks of four, and then rolling three dice. The total number rolled determines which player will receive the first stack of tiles, after which all the remaining stacks are handed out to players, vacant player positions on the table, and to the dealer.
Pai Gow – Pai Gow Poker Tiles
Next, the players and the dealer individually produce two hands made up of four tiles each, a so-called high hand and a low high hand. The object of the game is to create two hands that are both higher than the bank’s hand. In pai gow all the players take turns being the bank. That means the player who is acting as the bank will bankroll against all other players at the table, paying out winnings to other players if he loses. On the flip side, the player acting as the bank for that round will take winnings from everyone else if he has the high hand and also wins over other players in the case of a tie (tiles that have the same value and rankings). This game is similar to baccarat in that it gives the player some of the best house odds. In pai gow the player/house odds are nearly even. That being the case, the house charges players a 5 percent commission on all winning bets.
Pai gow …